Cornelius
Feminine · “A Roman family name”
Cornelius is given to boys far more often — 36,407 boys against 642 girls since 1880. See Cornelius as a boy name
Cornelius is one of the great Roman family names, and it has been carried by a centurion, a pope, an inventor who took a boat under the Thames, and the ferryman who became the richest man in America. Four syllables, a solid start and a Latin finish, with Neil tucked inside for everyday use.
How old is the name Cornelius?
Cornelius first appears in US birth records in 1888 — 137 years ago. The typical Cornelius alive today was born around 1939, making them about 86 years old. About 300 people named Cornelius are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Cornelius most popular?
Cornelius peaked in 1888, reaching #1036 nationally. See the whole 1888 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From gens Cornelia to Cornelius
The story of Cornelius
The Cornelii were among the most powerful families of the Roman Republic, and the name passed into Christian use through the centurion Cornelius in the Book of Acts and a third-century pope. It became especially common in the Netherlands, where in the early 1620s the inventor Cornelis Drebbel, working in London for King James, built a covered rowing boat that traveled under the surface of the Thames, the first navigable submarine on record. Dutch families carried the name to New York, and in 1810 the teenage Cornelius Vanderbilt borrowed a small sum from his mother to buy a sailing barge and run a ferry from Staten Island to Manhattan, the start of the shipping and railroad fortune that made him the richest man in the country.
Meaningscholars disagree
A Roman family name, often linked to Latin cornu, 'horn'
Cornelius was the name of a Roman clan, the gens Cornelia. The link to cornu, 'horn', is the common explanation, but the origin of the clan name is not settled.
How the name formed
- gens Cornelia
- Cornelius
Related forms: Cornelis · Cornelio · Corneille · Cornelio · Cornelia
Pronouncing Cornelius
kor-NEEL-yus
Three or four syllables depending on the speaker; kor-NEE-lee-us is also common.
Nicknames for Cornelius
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1888
- Most girls named
- 192414 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1036reached in 1888
- Change vs 1987
- −37.5%5 in 1990, from 8
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Cornelius in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Cornelis in Dutch — same name
- Cornelio in Italian — same name
- Corneille in French — same name
- Cornelio in Spanish — same name
- Cornelia in Latin — related form
Corneliuss among us
people named Cornelius are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Cornelius sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Instantly recognized and spelled the way everyone expects.
- An unbroken history from ancient Rome to modern America.
- Comes with several short forms, Neil, Corey and Neely among them.
- Carries famous bearers in several fields without belonging to any one of them.
- Four syllables is long for daily use, and most boys named Cornelius are called by a short form.
- The spelling is recorded occasionally for girls, but Cornelia is the established feminine, and a girl called Cornelius would be explaining it often.
- Its Roman weight reads as formal to some people, which others count as the point.
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Cornelius
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Corneliuss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Cornelius are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Cornelius in 2025?
- Cornelius is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Cornelius with classmates?
- Cornelius will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More C names
The most-given names starting with C, all years combined.
Carol#2239 · Cynthia#1013 · Catherine#313 · Christine#1272 · Carolyn#1222 · Christina#770 · Charlotte#2 · Cheryl#4352
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Cornelius? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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